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KITX
KITX 'is a television station serving the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex as a Touchstone Network affiliate. Licensed in Irving, Texas; KITX broadcasts on digital/virtual channel 37 and is under ownership of The Walt Disney Company. History Beginnings This TV station as channel 26 was founded on May 7, 1985, but didn't launch until March 11, 1990 when it first aired under the call letters '''KTWD '''as an affiliate of The Weather Channel for viewers who were not subscribed to cable or satellite. While affiliating with The Weather Channel was no trouble, then owner OTA Holdings had difficulty obtaining a way to get a signal via direct satellite. However, Paragon Cable has granted them permission to rebroadcast under one condition that they are not carried via cable themselves. KTWD not only shown the national weather segments, but also local forecasts from TWC's WeatherStar 4000 unit housed at an Irving-area Paragon Cable headend. MSN TV In early 1995, Microsoft had announced that their launching a new news network named MSN TV. Microsoft acquired 15 stations (including KTWD) across the United States and began broadcasting the network on August 15, 1995. The callsign was then changed to '''KMSD '''on August 24, coincidentally on the release of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating systems. MSN TV broadcasted a unique news wheel, comprised of national and international headlines, sports, weather, and MSN's specialty, Tech news. Microsoft even had its stations carried via cable and satellite. Unfortunately, MSN TV suffered numerous missteps beginning in 1996. MSN was considering shutting down the network. However, NBC approached Microsoft in merging both MSN TV and America's Talking networks to form MSNBC. Before shutting down the network in early July, Microsoft put its entire station group for sale to make the merger happen. After MSN TV Former MSN TV affiliates had the option to switch to similar programming or go off the air. KMSD, however, opted to revert back to its previous affiliation, The Weather Channel. But because it's finally direct broadcast via satellite, there was no local weather information. On August 12, 1996, local broadcasting tycoon and school teacher Charles Tandy launched Bronco Broadcasting (named after Irving's Austin Middle School mascot, the Broncos) and begun buying most of Microsoft's former station roster including KMSD. He then moved its operations into the Studios of Las Colinas. Under Bronco's direction, affiliations have abruptly changed to CNN Headline News (same goes for the remainder of its stations). This also caused a little controversy with its area cable and satellite providers. Bronco Broadcasting was given a reprieve after they were asked to reserve the primetime slots for community programming, in which KMSD and other Bronco-owned stations did. Saturday and Sunday mornings were reserved for classic educational/informational programs for children with Fridays reserved for classic movies. As an Independent On May 7, 1997, Tandy, then head of Bronco Broadcasting, planned on removing CNN Headline News from its stations and replace them with a general entertainment comprised of existing community programs and syndicated shows. This station, which changed to the '''KSFA '''callsign (after Irving's '''S'tephen '''F. A'ustin Middle School) on June 20, 1997, was the first to make the switch to being primarily independent the day after. The launch ocurred at 5AM (Central) with a sketch titled "The Birth of KSFA", then aired looping traffic and weather information with audio from WBAP News/Talk 820 provided in the background until 6AM with the first program being "Bugs & Daffy". Its weekday schedule had classic children's cartoons, classic game shows, and sitcoms airing from 6AM to 12 Midnight. Weekends were reserved for movies and classic specials, thus adopting the slogan, "The New Home for Classic TV". The few public affairs shows that remained were moved to the 12 Midnight timeslot with CNN Headline News relegated to the remaining overnight hours, except for Sunday/Monday Night Owl where KSFA signs off from 1 a.m. to 4:30 a.m for regular maintenance (a practice that continued through July 2, 2007). The independent format was well received by DFW-area viewers. Beginning in Fall 1998, KSFA gradually added modern sitcoms and dramas to its schedule, and it became the home of the Texas Rangers baseball games. By 1999, Bronco was approached by Disney and Turner Broadcasting to purchase a stake of the broadcasting company. Both Disney and Turner each obtained 25% of the stake in Bronco Broadcasting--a partnership that remained a stronghold. The following Fall TV season in 1999, KSFA began its news operations as "News 26" on its evening slots at 5:30 and 10:00 p.m. By the summer of 2000, Tandy built two studios at Austin Middle School and planned original programming for KSFA. The shows were ''AM @ SFA (a daily morning show hosted by students), SFA in DFW, Andrew's Pool Party, and SFA Live (two weekly Friday night shows). Of KSFA's original slate, the latter two were mainstays of the station. After the September 11th attacks, Bronco broadcasting suffered some financial setbacks, despite high TV ratings for KSFA. Dallas-based Belo Corp. expressed interest in buying the remaining 50% of Bronco's stake. The sale was consummated with little to no programming changes. By the Summer of 2002, KSFA changed its station imaging and branding as "Texas 26", akin to the graphics that were used on USA Broadcasting's stations before their switch to TeleFutura. Its new slogan was "TV You Can't Ignore". On April 11, 2002, KSFA began its digital broadcasts on channel 37 (virtual channel 26 through PSIP). In 2004, "SFA Live" was moved to the Studios of Las Colinas and renamed "Friday Night Live" as it was soon to be nationally syndicated, and in preparation of KSFA changing to its current call letters 'KITX '(after its city of license, 'I'rving, '''TX). The branding and programming remained the same. However, CNN Headline News was slowly phased out by December 2004. From that point on, KITX became a full-fledged independent station. KITX Today In 2006, in response of UPN and The WB merging as The CW and Fox launching its mini-network "MyNetworkTV", Disney announced its companion network ABCi as initially a partnership effort between Disney and Ion Media Networks. Its programming schedule originally consisted of shows from ABC and the "i" network (formerly PAX TV). Being that Bronco Broadcasting is 25% owned by Disney, KITX and its Bronco station roster became charter affiliates of ABCi by the start of the 2006-07 TV season, and KITX rebranded as "ABCi 26". KITX's original shows "Andrew's Pool Party" and "Friday Night Live" were eventually moved into the network's schedule shown to a much broader audience (both shows were then cancelled by the end of Summer 2014). That same year, KITX relinquished its rights to the Texas Rangers games, but obtained rights to show FC Dallas soccer games. On January 7, 2007, "News 26" aired for the final time and was subsequentially replaced with news rebroadcasts from Dallas-based Belo-owned WFAA-TV. At the same time, KITX's digital broadcasts were upgraded to 720p high-definition. In June 2009, "ABCi 26" was rebranded as "DFW's ABCi" in preparation for the analog-to-digital conversion on June 12, 2009, in which KITX shut down its analog signal. Normally, a station would keep its original channel number after the conversion. But because another station occupied channel 26's position, the virtual channel number was changed to match its digital channel spot. In 2011, ABCi was then renamed as ABC Plus after Ion television sold back its stake of the network. The station was renamed as "DFW's ABC Plus" promptly. In the summer of 2013, Belo sold its stake back to Bronco Broadcasting after there was word of Gannet purchasing the media company. Shortly thereafter, Turner Broadcasting sold its 25% stake to focus more on its cable assets. On November 20, 2013, Bronco Broadcasting has announced that it will sell its entire station group. Disney bought the remaining 75% of Bronco, and absorbed the company into its portfolio, making KITX a Disney owned station. News rebroadcasts from WFAA-TV will continue to air. It was announced on January 8, 2018 that ABC Plus will be renamed Touchstone Network and its programming modified, due to the fact that there was no need for a secondary ABC network with the "Watch ABC" app. At the same time, Disney will sell its ABC Plus O&O stations (including KITX) to independent broadcaster Mintz Broadcasting. The network name change and sale is expected to close by the end of January. The station rebranded as "Touchstone 37". Programming Aside from primetime programming from ABC Plus and newsrebroadcasts supplied from WFAA-TV, KITX's programming schedule consists of syndicated sitcoms, dramas, reality shows, and movies. KITX will also serve as a secondary affiliate of ABC in case KDLA breaks away for sporting events or breaking news. Syndicated *''America's Funniest Home Videos'' *''Bait Car'' *''CSI: Crime Scene investigation'' *''Forensic Files'' *''Full House'' *''Home Improvement'' *''NCIS'' *''The Planet's Funniest Animals'' *''Robot Chicken'' *''Sealab 2021'' *''Sister, Sister'' *''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' *''The Three Stooges'' *''The Twilight Zone'' *''Whose Line is It Anyway? (US version)'' *''Wipeout'' *''World's Dumbest'' Children's *''Critter Gitters'' *''Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures'' *''Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown'' Category:Dallas Category:Fort Worth Category:Texas Category:Channel 37 Category:Television channels and stations established in 1990 Category:ABC Stations Owned By Disney Category:Former independent stations Category:Touchstone Network affiliates Category:Former ABC Plus affiliates